Still smiling...
Soft flowing lines of desert sand dunes
Mediterranean-look plants on the Sand side of the garden
Jagged edges of cracked and melting ice
Cool, silvery colours on the Ice side After the blood, sweat, and tears (all of them literally), as you can see from the photo above, I was still smiling at the end of it all. And for that I have to thank you, all the people that told me during the week of Chelsea how much you loved the garden. It really did make it all worthwhile.
Unfortunately the judges didn’t really agree, but they did award us a bronze medal which is a good result for my first garden at Chelsea (especially since my garden was being compared with Show Gardens with five times my budget). The RHS only choose the best designs out of all the applications, so it’s amazing (but gratifying) that they let me build the garden at all!
I’ve learned so much through this process, and I’ve met some wonderful people. Not only famous people like Prince Philip, HRH Duke of Edinburgh, and TV celebrities like Rachel de Thame, but the wonderful group of guys who pull together each year, and support each other through building Chelsea and making it the best Flower Show on Earth.
The idea behind the ‘Hasmead Sand and Ice Garden’ was to raise the issue of climate change. I wanted to demonstrate that drought tolerant plants can be used to create very different looks. As well as the traditional warm Mediterranean gravel garden on the Sand side of the garden, I used white and silvery colours and spiky textures on the Ice side to create a cool and contemporary space.
Please find below a list of the plants that I used. They are suitable for a sunny, well-drained garden, sheltered from strong winds. The plants have a water-efficient character, ideal for areas which have periodic water shortages.
Acanthus spinosus (Bear's Breeches)
Achillea 'Moonshine' (Yarrow)
Agave Americana variegata (Century plant)
Armeria maritima 'Splendens' (Thrift)
Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis' (Mountian wormwood)
Artemisia schmidtiana 'Nana' (Satiny Wormwood)
Astelia chathamica 'Silver Spear' (Silver spear)
Eragrostis curvula (African love grass)
Euphorbia cyparissias Fens Ruby (Cypress spurge)
Euphorbia myrsinites (Myrtle spurge)
Festuca glauca 'Blauglut' (Blue fescue)
Festuca glauca 'Golden Toupée' (Chartreuse Fescue)
Foeniculum vulgare 'Rubrum' (Bronze Fennel)
Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus (Day lily)
Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro' (Day lily)
Libertia ixioides 'Taupo Sunset' (New Zealand iris)
Libertia peregrinans (New Zealand iris)
Libertia peregrinans 'Gold Leaf' (New Zealand iris)
Nepeta faassenii Six Hills Giant (Catmint)
Nerium oleander (Rose bay)
Olea europaea var. 'Frangivento' (Olive)
Phormium 'Alison Blackman' (New Zealand flax)
Phormium tenax Purpureum (New Zealand flax)
Pittosporum Tobira variegatum (Japanese pittosporum)
Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens' (Purple sage)
Salvia x sylvestris 'Schneehugel' (Snow hill wood sage)
Scleranthus uniflorus (Scleranthus)
Sedum telephium subsp. ruprechtii (Stonecrop)
Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet' (Lambs ears)
Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass)
Stipa gigantea (Golden oats)
Yucca gloriosa (Spanish dagger)
Unfortunately the judges didn’t really agree, but they did award us a bronze medal which is a good result for my first garden at Chelsea (especially since my garden was being compared with Show Gardens with five times my budget). The RHS only choose the best designs out of all the applications, so it’s amazing (but gratifying) that they let me build the garden at all!
I’ve learned so much through this process, and I’ve met some wonderful people. Not only famous people like Prince Philip, HRH Duke of Edinburgh, and TV celebrities like Rachel de Thame, but the wonderful group of guys who pull together each year, and support each other through building Chelsea and making it the best Flower Show on Earth.
The idea behind the ‘Hasmead Sand and Ice Garden’ was to raise the issue of climate change. I wanted to demonstrate that drought tolerant plants can be used to create very different looks. As well as the traditional warm Mediterranean gravel garden on the Sand side of the garden, I used white and silvery colours and spiky textures on the Ice side to create a cool and contemporary space.
Please find below a list of the plants that I used. They are suitable for a sunny, well-drained garden, sheltered from strong winds. The plants have a water-efficient character, ideal for areas which have periodic water shortages.
Acanthus spinosus (Bear's Breeches)
Achillea 'Moonshine' (Yarrow)
Agave Americana variegata (Century plant)
Armeria maritima 'Splendens' (Thrift)
Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis' (Mountian wormwood)
Artemisia schmidtiana 'Nana' (Satiny Wormwood)
Astelia chathamica 'Silver Spear' (Silver spear)
Eragrostis curvula (African love grass)
Euphorbia cyparissias Fens Ruby (Cypress spurge)
Euphorbia myrsinites (Myrtle spurge)
Festuca glauca 'Blauglut' (Blue fescue)
Festuca glauca 'Golden Toupée' (Chartreuse Fescue)
Foeniculum vulgare 'Rubrum' (Bronze Fennel)
Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus (Day lily)
Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro' (Day lily)
Libertia ixioides 'Taupo Sunset' (New Zealand iris)
Libertia peregrinans (New Zealand iris)
Libertia peregrinans 'Gold Leaf' (New Zealand iris)
Nepeta faassenii Six Hills Giant (Catmint)
Nerium oleander (Rose bay)
Olea europaea var. 'Frangivento' (Olive)
Phormium 'Alison Blackman' (New Zealand flax)
Phormium tenax Purpureum (New Zealand flax)
Pittosporum Tobira variegatum (Japanese pittosporum)
Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens' (Purple sage)
Salvia x sylvestris 'Schneehugel' (Snow hill wood sage)
Scleranthus uniflorus (Scleranthus)
Sedum telephium subsp. ruprechtii (Stonecrop)
Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet' (Lambs ears)
Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass)
Stipa gigantea (Golden oats)
Yucca gloriosa (Spanish dagger)
Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
